Workforce challenges persist in rural emergency departments amid physician shortages, according to a study in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

“Our analysis revealed that more than one third of emergency department clinicians are someone other than an emergency physician,” said the study’s lead author, M. Kennedy Hall, MD, assistant professor in the department of emergency medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. “This points to the need for a broader approach to emergency care training. Health systems have unique needs, and hospitals, particularly in rural areas, will continue to be challenged to harness the provider mix in their regions.”